EC to increase security after recent intruder incidents, overruling prior student vote
Residents should report all suspicious activity to MIT Police
East Campus will implement additional security measures after a recent series of unknown intruder incidents. Residents are encouraged to continue reporting suspicious behavior to MIT Police and to remain engaged in the conversation.
Head of House Sandy Alexandre wrote in an email to EC residents Jan. 27 that she will request “tap pads be placed on all EC hall doors except for Bemis/Hayden stairwell doors as soon as possible.”
Kate Przydzial ’23, EC resident, wrote in an email to The Tech that there were “several intruders this year and we have had recent issues with intruders entering occupied bathrooms and residents’ bedrooms.”
EC held a vote last semester in which each hall “was allowed to make decisions about how security would be handled specifically for their floor,” Przydzial wrote. “Some halls did vote for increased security … while some halls abstained from voting.”
“I am going to exercise my right and ethical responsibility as your head of house and go ahead and pass the security referendum that was, in all likelihood, only 1 or 2 votes from passing anyway,” Alexandre wrote.
The EC house team, consisting of Alexandre, Associate Heads of House Eden Medina PhD ’05 and Cristian Medina, and Area Director Alexandria Clyburn, wrote in an email to The Tech that security “is an ongoing conversation; nothing is set in stone.”
According to the house team, there have “always been and will always be opportunities for EC residents to voice their thoughts in person.” The team will schedule meetings with residents “whenever they’re requested.”
“EC residents could probably teach a master class in staying engaged in an ongoing conversation, so I certainly wouldn’t dictate how they might or should do that,” the house team wrote.
The house team “meets regularly with EC Exec” to discuss topics important to students. The team is also working with the Division of Student Life to arrive at a final solution.
“As these discussions continue, we ask residents to be conscious of individuals attempting to follow them (or ‘piggyback’) into the residence and to lock their room doors when they are out of the building,” David Friedrich, senior associate dean of housing and residential services, wrote in an email to The Tech.
Przydzial wrote that aside from Alexandre’s email, students “have gotten no additional information after the fact.” Resident feelings about the decision “are mixed,” Przydzial wrote.
MIT Police logs indicate that a report was “filed regarding suspicious activity” in building 64 of EC 3:38 a.m. Jan. 27. John DiFava, chief of police, did not respond to The Tech’s request for comment.
Residents observing suspicious behavior should contact MIT Police immediately at (617)-253-1212 or by dialing 100 from any MIT phone.